Saturday, March 25, 2006

Thousands Again Protest Immigration Bill

Again our brethren in the media get it wrong. This headline is most misleading, please allow me...

Thousands Of Criminals Attempt To Extort Citizenship!

Ahhh, much better!

LOS ANGELES - Tens of thousands of immigrant rights advocates from across Southern California marched Saturday in protest of federal legislation that would build more walls along the U.S.-Mexico border and make helping illegal immigrants a crime.

The march followed rallies on Friday that drew throngs of protesters to major cities around the nation.

On Saturday, demonstrators streamed into downtown Los Angeles for what was expected to be one of the city's largest pro-immigrant rallies. The crowd was estimated at more than 100,000, said police Sgt. Lee Sands.

Many of the marchers wore white shirts to symbolize peace and also waved U.S. flags. Some also carried the flags of Mexico and other countries, and even wore them as capes.

Elger Aloy, 26, of Riverside, a premed student, pushed a stroller with his 8-month-old son at Saturday's Los Angeles march.

"I think it's just inhumane. ... Everybody deserves the right to a better life," Aloy said of the legislation.

The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally, impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border. The Senate is to begin debating the proposals on Tuesday.

President Bush on Saturday called for legislation that does not force America to choose between being a welcoming society and a lawful one.

If there was any doubt about the large volume of migrant workers in Colorado, a crowd of more than 50,000 Latino demonstrators proved it today.

Throngs of people marched in front of the State Capitol on Colfax Avenue and packed Civic Center, waving signs that said “No on H.R. 4437,” a proposed federal law that would make illegal immigration a felony, and chanted “Si se puede,” or “yes we can” (unite).

“It's just incredible,” said Polly Baca, former state legislator and executive director of Latin American Research and Service Agency. “You can see that a day without these people working would be devastating for Colorado's economy.”

But U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said the crowd would have been much smaller or could have been quickly dispersed had Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shown up with buses and started checking identification.

“When the rest of America looks at these demonstrations they'll agree it's getting more difficult to control illegal immigration,” Tancrado said. “We'd better do something about this.”

Farm, construction and hotel workers from Pueblo to Fort Collins drove to Denver for the mass demonstration, Baca said. Many people walked from as far as 20 blocks, pushing baby strollers and waving large red, white and green Mexican flags.

Tens of thousands of Latinos marched up and down 24th Street on Friday, protesting federal legislation that would criminalize undocumented immigrants. Police said the rally, which snarled traffic and angered some business owners, was the largest demonstration in Phoenix history.

The show of might surprised organizers as largely immigrant construction workers, students and community activists took the day off and jammed the street, marching north from St. Agnes Catholic Church near McDowell Road to Camelback Road and Republican Sen. Jon Kyl's office.

Phoenix police estimated the crowd to be upward of 20,000; the rally coincided with a march in Tucson, where about 400 to 800 more marched to Kyl's office there.

During the loud but peaceful midmorning rallies, demonstrators vented frustration over controversial U.S. House Bill 4437, sponsored by Wisconsin Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner. The bill would, in part, make it a felony to be in the country illegally.

"I took today off of work," said Demirel Montiel, 29, who marched with his wife and three children. "I'm here for all the illegal people. Everybody's tired, tired that people think we're criminals. If you drive, you're a criminal. If you work, you're a criminal. If you're Mexican, you're a criminal."

The march comes as U.S.-born Latinos and immigrants in cities around the country have demonstrated for immigration reform and plan massive rallies this weekend in Los Angeles, New York and Denver.

The demonstrations coincide with the U.S. Senate's debate Tuesday on immigration legislation. Its Judiciary Committee, which Kyl serves on, must finish writing the legislation on Monday. Before lawmakers left for recess last week, they reached a tentative deal that would allow the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the country to earn legal status. Political experts and activists within Arizona's pro-immigrant movement said the series of marches is a sign that momentum is building for immigration reform.

As these criminals continue to ratchet up the threats and rhetoric at what point will most Americans acknowledge the basic truth staring them in the face?

This is an invasion and these people will not leave without some violence. Our politicians are soiling themselves as they allowed the problem to reach this level, now, in true politician fashion they claim the problem they allowed is to big to fix. Their scared, so they default into a position of appeasement.

Well, unlike our politicians I'm an American and I'm affronted by these miscreants having the audacity to stand on our streets illegally and demanding citizenship. I would just like to remind any American dumb enough to agree with them that to give in is the height of cowardice, you should be ashamed.

This is extortion pure and simple, what really burns me up is to hear Americans trembling in fear saying "well, we just better give them what they want or they might do something bad." I don't know how to break it to you Pollyana's but they're already doing plenty of bad stuff. Yes, many of these folks are good people who just want to work, unfortunately many aren't. And we have no way of sorting sheep from goats.